La Fortaleza de Haro

Beautiful grounds, unique and charming tower suite with 2 patios and a view, peaceful pool area, good breakfast, friendly staff, walkable to town and port yet far enough away to be peaceful and a little secluded as it is next to the national park. Just the right vibe to come home to after adventure touring.

The character of the hosts and the character of the hotel. The primary hostess, Gianna, was born for this role. A people person by nature, her fun-loving spirit, social curiosity, and caregiving nature, will make you feel welcomed, supported, and appreciated. She goes beyond the call. The building itself is teaming with novelty, bells, and whistles. You'll want to explore every nook and cranny of this historic building. A refreshing change from the humdrum of chain hotels. The facilities were reliable. I especially appreciated the user friendly shower, and its well regulated pressure and temperature. A rarity at most hotels these days. The location is underrated. It is like a five minute walk from the main drag, and a twenty minute walk from the furthest point of the main drag. Its comparatively secluded location adds to the feeling of retreat.

I stayed in the Sun and Moon (Tower) suite. Very unusual and distinctive, with two patios (three, if you are brave enough to climb the outside ladder to the top tower (I was not)). Scrupulously clean, good hot water, everything worked. Other positives: good strong modern air conditioning (which helped in 32 degree weather with 80% humidity!) ... a good breakfast (local fruit +eggs + bread + coffee) included in the price ... Host Gianna is exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful, arranging a private taxi tour of the Tortoise reserve (at half the Viator price!) and offering to arrange a discounted taxi to the airport ... well maintained swimming pool (again, 32 degrees!) ... easy walking distance to Darwin Centre and Tortoise Tour (Lonesome George!) Negatives (mostly nits): internet is not strong anywhere in the Galapagos, and Fortaleza is no exception. Had to leave room and come to common area for stronger signal ... Fortaleza is not right downtown, but only a 10-15 minute walk from the port. This is both a positive and a negative, as you are out of the late-night noise (though Puerto Ayora's nightlife was not that crazy when I was there On the whole, highly recommended (particularly the Tower Suite)

This is such a unique and peaceful place in Puerto Ayora. The service was great and breakfast was delicious. Roberto is an awesome host/owner and speaks English very well. The pool was refreshing. The hotel is very clean. The triple room was lovely, and comfy with great shower and plenty of storage space and it did feel like staying in a castle. We joked that we were in maid chamber room looking up to the castle tower where the bigger rooms are. We met other friendly travelers with interesting stories here too. There is a second floor open space to chill with hammocks, board games and a great view of the castle. Filter water is provided which is great because water bottles costs about $2. It is a thoughtfully built hotel. Breakfast was freshly made daily and the freshly baked bread was simply amazing. The only issue we had was wifi which was impossible to connect to and I just gave up. It was about 10min walk to restaurants through a nice residential neighborhood. We usually walked to town and took a $2 taxi back. I'd stay here again.

La Fortaleza de Haro is a fantastic place to stay! It was clean, within walking distance to town, had a wonderful breakfast every morning, and is owned by the friendliest and most welcoming people, Roberto and Gianna. The hotel is right next to the national park (Charles Darwin Research Center), so it’s very quiet and a relaxing place to hang out.